Assembly is the closest resembling programming language to pure machine code instructions. The available instructions depend on the architecture and even supported extensions. In this tutorial the available instructions will be limited to the most basic set of RISC-V instructions. This set of instructions is denoted as RV32I meaning that it entails RISC-V 32 bit basic integer instructions. Not only will this limited set simplify the explanation and subsequently aid the understanding. More important, the Ripes simulator only supports RV32I and RV32M extensions. Here the RV32M identifies that multiplication instructions are also available to be performed on integers. Before continuing […]

So you have heard of this RISC-V thing typically talked about in the context of microprocessors and to a lesser degree also for desktop processors. RISC-V is an open-source hardware instruction set architecture (ISA). Similarly to how X86 for Intel and AMD is a closed source ISA. Being an open-source ISA any manufacturer can develop new processors which implement it. Allowing many of the development tools to be reused across different manufacturers. This has the potential to drastically change the computing landscape. Especially with large companies like Western Digital already investing in the development of this new technology. Now, lets […]